The Weight of Light (Prompt #1 - Submerged)
“Warrior of Light, this farce of a negotiation will not be any easier if Iceheart’s band sees you like that. Do not waste any time.”
Disappointment already ringing from his tired voice, the Azure Dragoon called out to the young woman several yalms behind himself and the idealistic fool of a boy who forwarded the ridiculous motion of parley with a being that burned with centuries of hatred. And yet it was not the boy, but the supposed hero of Eorzea that had stopped mid-step, as if the biting Coerthan wind had frozen her in place.
The Warrior of Light took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Estinien and Alphinaud waited at the crest of the hill ahead. She had lost track by now of how long they had been marching through the highlands, and could hardly remember the last time she had a chance to sleep. She did remember twisting and turning in bed the night before they departed on this forlorn hope of a journey, on high alert with mind set ablaze by innumerable visions of failure.
She did not blame herself for this. How could any person sleep knowing that the next day, they would embark on a long journey with the intent of ending a thousand year long war? A war between two parties that until very recently, she had been an absolute outsider to at best.
Lifting her leg, she took a small step forward. The snow crunched under her feet.
It was not so long ago that she was just another adventurer, delivering logs and letters to make a simple living. Traveling the realm, a new sight to see each day. If only life was that simple and carefree now.
Another step. Her boots dug deep in the snow as the thick, wooly hides tied to her pack shifted slightly, straining her balance.
In more recent memory, the only people she could call a family anymore had all sacrificed themselves to escape a trap that she absolutely hated herself for failing to stop. Hoping against hope, her remaining friends believed the others were still out there. She wanted to believe too.
She braced herself as a merciless gale suddenly beared down upon her. The wind knocked her warm layered cap loose, and her long dark hair flowed with the frosty air. It was a small blessing that that the cap caught itself on the tip of her bow, rather than becoming lost in some field of white.
Cursing her heavy eyelids, she went through the motions. Left. Right. Left Right. The fate of an entire city-state and the lives of its people were at stake. The vague voice calling from ahead was right. There was no time to waste.
Almost there, and yet she felt she was choking. She didn’t ask for this. Nothing prepared her for the burden on her shoulders.
Gentle hands suddenly clung to her right arm, pulling her up and forward; jolting her awake.
“Teruko, are…. are you alright?” The white haired negotiator himself helped the Warrior of Light to the peak of the hill. “Should we seek shelter?”
“Don’t mind me.” She smiled softly. “After everything, you think a hill is going to kill me?”
“N-no, it’s just…”
“We have a signal fire to light. I’m sorry for the delay.”
The Warrior of Light tried to put on her best act. A confident smile, some skillful words: a ritual completed many times after being the hero of the day. Instead, she forged onward quietly, past the boy, and past the Azure Dragoon crossing his arms. Left. Right. Left. Right.